MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!

[Dmitry]

Originally Posted by katana

Dmitry, if a soldier refused to fight, for any reason, he would be branded a 'coward' or 'deserter' and excecuted by firing squad.

This is true regarding one soldier, a platoon, perhaps a company.
However, when the whole French armies refused to fight, leading to the coordinated massive strikes in France, and effectively brought the country and the French government onto its knees.
Same thing happened on the Eastern Front, when the Russian soldiers, demoralized, cold, hungry, and sick, dropped their weapons, and left the trenches in droves, hundreds of thousands of them.


Going back to the Christmas cease fire - we cannot possibly comprehend what went through the minds of those people, and what it meant for them. For us, it's just an anecdote.
Then the moment of clarity
Faded like charity does...

[celtan]

There are instances in the Vietnam war where American units refused to obey orders, with no consequences whatsoever.

And fragging officers, while rare, did occur.

Originally Posted by Dmitry

This is true regarding one soldier, a platoon, perhaps a company.
However, when the whole French armies refused to fight, leading to the coordinated massive strikes in France, and effectively brought the country and the French government onto its knees.
Same thing happened on the Eastern Front, when the Russian soldiers, demoralized, cold, hungry, and sick, dropped their weapons, and left the trenches in droves, hundreds of thousands of them.


Going back to the Christmas cease fire - we cannot possibly comprehend what went through the minds of those people, and what it meant for them. For us, it's just an anecdote.
Then the moment of clarity
Faded like charity does...

[Jim McDougall]

Thanks guys! Here I thought all the Christmas cheer had ended, and I was missin' my tree!! you guys are amazing, your Christmas spirit just keeps goin

I have stored all my Christmas ornaments now.

[Dmitry]

Orthodox Christmas hasn't even come yet.
Julian calendar is 13 days behind the Gregorian one.

[Jim McDougall]